Thousands rallying behind Market Basket CEO

Thousands of Market Basket employees and shoppers and dozens of store managers have voiced their support for company CEO Arthur T. Demoulas ahead of his potential removal next week.

In the wake of news that Demoulas could be removed by a majority vote of the company's seven board members, an online petition quickly gained thousands of signatures, a Twitter hashtag "#SaveArthurT" had dozens of mentions, and a Twitter account with the same name was flooded with messages Thursday and Friday.

The petition, which gained signatures by the minute, with more than 21,000 signatures from employees and customers by 11 p.m. Friday, seemed to receive far more support than even its creators expected. On Thursday, the goal for the total number of signatures was 5,000. It later increased to 10,000 and then 22,000.

A Twitter account named "SaveArthurT" showed images of that same message on placards on product shelves in Market Basket stores.

In another sign of support, more than 70 store managers wrote to shareholders and directors on Thursday, saying Demoulas' ouster would "cause significant damage to this company."

The petition was addressed to three of the seven board members who are expected to make the decision Thursday on whether to remove Demoulas as CEO of Demoulas Super Markets Inc. Of the other four board members, two are appointed by Demoulas and two others by his cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas. The cousins, and their respective sides of the founding family, have battled over Market Basket for years.

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"We implore you to please consider all that Market Basket means to the people who shop there, work there and understand it to be more than just a business," the petition says. "For so many in the region, it has been the place we can trust to help us save money as we feed our families. It has been run by a family who cares."

The victims of ousting the CEO will be the company's 22,000 employees, it says. "So much more is at stake than simple control of the company."

An attorney for three Market Basket shareholders who sued the company responded to an allegation in the petition that implied the shakeup is for the benefit of greater payouts for shareholders.

"That's a lie, and anyone who says that is a liar," Thomas Fitzpatrick said.

Of the broader sentiment from employees, Fitzpatrick pointed to company bylaws that say the board of directors has power over the company.

One longtime employee who signed the petition is Lowell resident Scott Patenaude, a meat manager in the Burlington Market Basket. A father of four and a 27-year employee, Patenaude said the impending leadership change is "the only thing that's on everybody's mind" at the store.

"I don't think words can describe how bad it can be," Patenaude said, describing worry about the company's popular employee profit-sharing plan. "The company has been phenomenal to me and many people."

The 46-year-old said he's also worried about employee health-care coverage, which he called generous. Of Arthur T. Demoulas, he said, "how can you say he's not doing things that are for the best for the company?"

Tewksbury-based Market Basket has grown significantly since Demoulas took over as head of the company in 2008. The number of stores has increased by 15, now at 71. Sales have also increased by one-third, now at $4 billion annually.

But Demoulas' tenure, according to his critics among nine family shareholders, has also included questionable spending, including deals with companies run by his wife and brothers-in-law. The shareholders have also accused him of being unwilling to defer to directors.

The company has provided a copy of a 2011 report by a retired judge hired by the board of directors that found those business dealings with family-run businesses not to be a breach of his fiduciary duty.

Industry analyst Neil Stern of Chicago-based McMillanDoolittle said Market Basket bas been "one of the real success stories" in the industry over the past decade with its formula of low prices and happy, productive employees.

"It's worked really well," he said.

Such an ouster of a CEO, Stern said, mentioning the recent removal of George Zimmer, the founder and face of Men's Wearhouse, typically is a response to performance issues or concerns about the direction of the company. That doesn't appear to be the case with Market Basket, he said.

"You wonder, why rock the boat now?"

"I think what's at stake," he added, "is they've built a very strong culture, and with such a thin margin (between profit and loss) in the industry, if you lose employee morale or enthusiasm, you can change the fortune of the business pretty quickly."

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